Lufthansa changes rules for instruments from March
After violinist Caroline Widmann was forced to carry her Guadagnini violin in the cabin of the plane without a case, Lufthansa is now changing the rules for instruments as hand luggage.
According to several international press reports, Widmann was forced to carry her violin, which cost millions, unprotected in the cabin on a Lufthansa flight from Helsinki to Leipzig last November. The ground staff had forbidden her to take the violin case with her, in accordance with the rules, because at 80 centimetres long it did not comply with the permitted dimensions. Previously, Lufthansa staff had always been accommodating.
Following discussions with the musician, Lufthansa (and with it Swiss) is now changing the rules for musical instruments in the cabin from March. The height plus width plus depth of the packed instrument may now not exceed 125 centimeters in total. This means that instruments that are longer than the regular maximum of 55 centimeters can also be taken on board.
